Stretchable electroadhesion for soft robots

Abstract

With the ongoing rise of soft robots there emerges a need for new technologies that can cope with hyper-flexibility and stretchability. In this paper, we describe a new method for enabling controllable adhesion, namely electroadhesion, for use in soft robots. We present a method to manufacture stretchable electroadhesive pads and characterize their performance when stretching the pad more than double its original length. Our results suggest that the normal detachment force per area slightly decreases with the stretching, while the shear detachment force per area increases with the stretch ratio. These results imply that stretchable electroadhesive pads have higher adaptivity than non-stretchable pads because their mechanical stiffness and adhesive forces can be controlled through stretching.